The Class 3A #4 Norwalk softball team used three home runs and a strong pitching performance to defeat Newton 10-1 Friday night, in a game heard live on the KRLS3 stream. 

Warriors pitcher Carly Brewer won her ninth game of the year, while also hitting a grand slam in the seventh inning for her fifth homer of the season. Nyah Hulbert led off the game with a solo home run, and Bailey Birmingham hit a two run homer in the fourth inning to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead. Birmingham added another run batted in during the 5th inning, along with Cambry Livingston and Dani Peters. Norwalk had 14 hits and two stolen bases. The Cardinals had one hit, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Freshman Emerson Ray had the hit that batted in Newton’s only run in the seventh inning. Sophomore Pitcher Leileigh Hammons pitched a complete game for the Cardinals and struck out five Warrior batters. 

Norwalk improved to 9-2 in the Little Hawkeye conference and 14-2 overall. The Warriors return to action today in the Xavier Softball Classic at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, where they’ll take on Class 4A #7 Clear Creek Amana at 2:45 p.m., followed by Class 5A #12 Cedar Rapids Kennedy. 

The Newton Cardinals are now 2-8 in conference play and 6-10 on the season, and they are off until traveling to Pella Christian for a doubleheader on Monday.